Contact: John D. Marshall
Sr. Vice President,
Administration & Treasurer
334-244-4360
Release: Immediately
Blount Announces Preliminary Results for 2000
Montgomery, AL, January 17, 2001 - Blount International, Inc. (NYSE: BLT)
("Blount") announced today that preliminary results for the year ended
December 31, 2000, indicate that the Company will post earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") of $136 million to
$139 million, which will be the second best year in the Company,s history.
EBITDA will be lower than the 2000 annual results estimated by the Company
during a conference call with investors on October 17, 2000, discussing third
quarter 2000 results. The two largest operating segments (Outdoor Products and
Sporting Equipment) expect to post record or near record annual results. The
Industrial and Power Equipment segment is expected to achieve only slightly
positive EBITDA for the year as the forestry equipment market remains
depressed.
In addition to the continuation of the slow forestry equipment market
impacting the Industrial and Power Equipment segment, retail sales of products
manufactured by the Sporting Equipment segment were lower than expected in the
fourth quarter of 2000, primarily due to the carryover effect of high Y2K
sales. For the fourth quarter of 2000, the Company expects sales in the range
of $195 million to $200 million with EBITDA in the range of $30 million to $33
million. For the full year 2000, the Company expects sales in the range of
$825 million to $830 million with EBITDA in the range of $136 million to $139
million.
The Company will release an earnings announcement and hold a conference call
to discuss earnings on or about February 8, 2001.
Headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama, Blount International, Inc. is a
diversified international company operating in three principal business
segments: Outdoor Products; Sporting Equipment; and Industrial and Power
Equipment. Blount International, Inc. sells its products in more than 100
countries around the world. For more information about Blount International,
Inc., please visit our website at http://www.blount.com.
- more -
<PAGE>
Preliminary Results for 2000
Page 2
Forward looking statements in this release, including references to our
expectations and the preliminary nature of the above results, as defined by
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Law of 1995, involve certain risks
and actual results subsequent to the date of this announcement may differ
materially.
# # #
